Mounting clips of the specified type are often used in motor vehicles, in order to be able to easily and quickly mount relatively lightweight components, such as cables, pipes, trim elements, and the like. Such mounting clips are generally made of plastic as injection molded parts, with single-piece designs that can be formed with simple molds being preferred for cost reasons. Efforts are also made to design the clips such that they can be reliably mounted in apertures of different sizes, and also in supporting parts of different thicknesses.
A clip of the specified type is known from GB 2,316,707 A. The clip is intended for use in a slot-like aperture, and has a plate-like head section and a shank section composed of a number of parallel posts whose free ends are joined together. Arranged between the posts are latching fingers. The free ends of the latching fingers are curved and have projections extending toward the center of the clip with numerous latching surfaces on their outer surfaces. Depending on the thickness of the supporting part, other latching surfaces of the projections engage with the underside of the supporting part. In this way, the clip adjusts to different material thicknesses of the supporting part. On the underside of the head section, the clip has resilient tabs that bear against the top surface of the supporting part and secure the clip to the supporting part without play. The width of the clip's shank section is narrower than the aperture, so the clip can only be oriented in the transverse direction with the aid of the latching fingers. No information is provided as to how the clip is to be oriented and supported in the longitudinal direction of the aperture.
In addition, from DE 8,113,637 U1 is known a clip with a base part and a flange part, wherein the base part is cylindrical in design and has cylindrical guides on its outer surface that serve to guide the base part in a hole in a supporting part. The base part has two openings in two directions perpendicular to its axis of insertion and to each other, in each of which are provided mutually opposing pairs of elastic tongues which point toward the underside of the flange part and whose spread ends retain the clip on the supporting part once it has been inserted in the hole. In order to compensate for differences in supporting part thickness, multiple pairs of elastic tongues with different lengths are provided. In this prior art clip, the diameter of the cylindrical guides must be matched relatively exactly to the diameter of the hole to make for secure seating in the hole of the supporting part.